Microsoft lays IE6 to rest in the United States

Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that Internet Explorer 6’s share of the United States Web browser marker is now less than 1%. In celebration of the stat, first reported by Net Applications, the Redmond-based company is giving a final farewell to the browser. Internet Explorer 6 was first launched in 2001, shortly after Windows XP made its debut. It has since been replaced by new revisions, the most current of which is Internet Explorer 9. “IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we’ve been as eager as anyone to see it go away,” Microsoft’s director of Internet Explorer marketing Roger Capriotti said in a blog post. “In fact, we launched the IE6 Countdown site last March to help accelerate the process. Less than a year later, I’m thrilled to say that the United States has joined the ranks of Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway in dropping below 1% usage of IE6.” Internet Explorer 8 was recently surpassed by Google Chrome 15 as the most popular single browser version in the world according to StatCounter, but Internet Explorer still maintains the largest global share if all versions of the browser are taken into consideration.